


Solangelo: Blue Lagoon

by Fangirl_Forever



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Author loves to chat in the Comments, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Fluff and Angst, I'm Bad At Titles, I'm Sorry, Rating May Change, Tags May Change, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-06
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2018-11-09 20:01:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11111820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirl_Forever/pseuds/Fangirl_Forever
Summary: Nico and Will go to the same private school but are in different social circles and dislike each other. While on a field trip overseas, they both go at the same boat party. Chaos ensues when the police are called and they both end up overboard in a life raft, drifting away from shore. They have to learn to work together to survive, and slowly their dislike towards each other turns into something else.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Tumblr prompt request for a "Blue Lagoon" Solangelo AU fic. Loosely based on the 2012 remake. I don't have it planned at all and I'm just writing as I go along, but there will definitely be several chapters. Chapter lengths will vary between 1000-1500 words and updates will be once a month at least. I know nothing about boats/survival/etc. beyond what I've researched so if something isn't right, please tell me. 
> 
> ***I'm fudging the ages a bit because I need both Will and Nico to be seniors, so they are both 18 in this fic.***
> 
> ***TITLE/TAGS/NOTES/CONTENT liable to change if/when I feel it's needed.

            Will didn’t remember what happened. He remembered the boat party, which had been going great until the cops showed up. He remembered running and trying to find somewhere to hide. He remembered someone bumping into him, sending him over the rail. That's where his memory cut off. He must have hit his head somehow on the way down, because the next thing he remembered is waking up in a small inflatable life raft with his least favorite person, Nico di Angelo, leaning over him, shaking him.

           

            Will cursed and shoved Nico over, sitting up fast and instantly regretting it as his stomach threatened to empty itself. He doubled over, moaning, and waited for the nausea to pass before he sat up straight again. After it did, he noticed the headache he had. He hesitantly reached up and touched his head where the pounding was, and to his relief his fingers came away clean. He breathed a sigh of relief before he stuck his head out of the life raft opening and looked around for the boat. But to his shock, all he could see in all directions was water, water, and more water.

           

            “I think you might have a concussion, but I'm not sure. Headache, nausea, how many fingers am I holding up?” Nico said, holding his hand up in front of Will's face.

           

            “Get out of my face, di Angelo!” Will shoved his hand away, pulling his head back inside the raft.

           

            Nico frowned. “Ungrateful, spoiled brat. I saved your freaking life, you could at pretend to be grateful!”

           

            Will glared at him, getting even madder because he was right. “Thanks, though I wouldn't be surprised if you're the one who shoved me over in the first place.”

           

            Nico gaped at him for a moment before his face turned murderous. “You're unbelievable, Solace! It was your jock boyfriend who pushed you over! You're lucky I saw you go over, because he sure as hell didn't stop to check on you and nobody else saw you go over either. You hit your head on the rail and would have drowned if I hadn't jumped in after you! And furthermore-” Nico cut himself off by biting his lip and then turned around so he didn't have to look at Will anymore.

           

            Will didn't want to believe what Nico had just said. “Cliff pushed me over?” he asked in disbelief. “No, you're wrong. He wouldn't do that to me, he loves me.” His denial sounded weak even to his own ears but Will refused to believe anything Nico said.

           

            Nico shrugged without turning around. “If it makes you feel better, he didn't do it on purpose. Believe me or don't. I know what I saw.”

           

            The resignation in Nico's voice cut through Will's defenses, so he reached for his anger again. But even that was mostly gone. “Why should I believe you? You're always getting into trouble, always lying and skipping class.”

           

            That made Nico glare at him over his shoulder. “You're just like everyone else. Always assuming I'm the problem, blaming it on me, thinking I'm dirt. I'm not gonna listen to it right now, this night already sucks enough.” With that, he looked away from Will again, signaling the end of the conversation.

           

            Will sighed and, without Nico to distract, he realized his head was still pounding. He rubbed at his temples, but it didn't help any. “Where's the boat?” he asked, growing uncomfortable in the silence. Then, something hit him and instantly made him feel like an idiot for not asking sooner.

           

            Nico sighed but answered him anyway. “It's probably been docked by now. We're drifting west, maybe southwest, which is the opposite direction we need to be going.”

           

            “How the hell do you know which way we're going?” Will asked, skeptical.

           

            Nico simply pointed up towards the sky and said, “I know how to navigate using the stars.”

           

            Will snorted. “Sure you do,” he said, mockingly.

           

            Nico shrugged again. “Don't believe me. I don't expect anything else. It's always the same, I do something good and it always come back to bite me in the ass. I don't know why I expected anything different from you.”

           

            To Will's shock, the honesty and disappointment evident in Nico's voice actually made him feel guilty. But, being the stubborn person he was, Will wasn't about to apologize. It would feel like letting Nico win. Instead, he pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around them. His trunks were wet and cold but he didn't want to get naked in front of Nico. Nico, apparently had no concerns about that and started stripping right where he sat. Will looked up just as Nico was pulling his shirt off and immediately looked away, blushing. He had caught a glimpse of a smooth and toned chest and a hint of a six pack before he looked away.

           

            Trying not to think about that, he said, “What the hell are you doing, di Angelo?” He heard more rustling and moving around before Nico responded.

           

            “You're not gonna get dry or warm wearing wet clothes. You should be alright, since you're only wearing trunks and they're meant to get wet and dry somewhat fast, but I'm going to catch cold or hypothermia if I don't get out of these clothes.”

           

            “You could have like, warned me or something, or maybe turned around!” Will sputtered.

           

            Nico snorted. “I'm more concerned with my survival than I am your sensibilities, Solace. Besides, I'm gonna keep my underwear on. Your poor little virgin heart won't be traumatized too much.”

           

            Will lifted his head without thinking and choked on his words. Nico had turned around and was leaning out of the other opening in the raft, giving Will a good view of his butt which Will couldn't look away from for several seconds. He finally dragged his gaze away when Nico started to turn around again. Looking at the bottom of the raft, he noticed that Nico's clothes were gone. He frowned and glanced back up at Nico. “What did you do with your clothes?”

           

            Nico settled himself, sitting cross legged, and said, “I just laid them out on top of the raft. Once the sun rises, they'll dry and in the meantime they won't be in here making us anymore wet or cold than we already are.”

           

            “Oh,” Will mumbled. He shifted, uncomfortable in his wet trunks. If Nico noticed, he stayed silent. After half an hour, with Will checking his very expensive waterproof watch every few minutes, he couldn't take it anymore. He quickly stripped off his trunks and sighed with relief when he was free of the clinging material. His face was burning as he sat back down and he watched Nico carefully for any reaction, but Nico had already closed his eyes and appeared to be sleeping. He curled into a ball, both to cover his nakedness and for warmth, and shut his eyes. To his surprise, exhaustion hit him and he was out in minutes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is here! I struggled for days trying to find a good place to end this chapter, that's always one of the hardest parts of writing for me. Leave a comment, please, I live for comments!!

            Nico woke up when the sun rose. He had a moment where he forgot where he was and everything that had happened. Then it all came slamming back into him and he closed his eyes again, wanting to just go back to sleep and not deal with the situation. But now that he was awake, his body was protesting staying in one position for so long. He slowly unfolded his legs, wincing as pins and needles exploded up and down them. Once he had feeling back in them, he popped his back and neck and stretched his arms out, as far as he could in the cramped space inside the fort. Feeling more like himself, he checked on Will, pleased despite himself to see he was still alive.

            After that he checked on their clothes. Will’s trunks were dryer than his own clothes, which he expected, but his were still too wet and cold for him to put back on. He had half a mind to slip on Will’s trunks a get out of his wet underwear for a bit. He could feel a rash already forming on his skin from the wet material. But just as quickly he dismissed the idea. He didn’t need to give Will a real reason to be mad at him. So, instead he took off his boxers and laid them out beside his clothes. He hoped at least his those would be dry when Will woke up and made a fit about him being naked.

            Nico did a cursory check of the life raft, searching for leaks or rips. He sighed in relief when it appeared intact. He would need to set up some sort of schedule with Will so they could both keep an eye out for anything important. Like another boat, or a plane. Or land. Land would be good. Nico nodded to himself before he leaned out of the raft’s opening. He grinned when he saw the emergency pack still tied to the outside of the raft. Whoever had owned the boat had been prepared, which was a good thing. Nico couldn’t agree with their decision to throw huge parties for teenagers on field trips, but he was glad they were at least responsible enough to be prepared for an emergency.

            Nico was easily able to reach the pack and pull it into the raft. Will was sitting up and rubbing his eyes as Nico did so and his eyes widened at Nico’s nakedness before his attention turned to the emergency pack. His face lit up and he eagerly reached for the pack. Nico let him snatch it out of his hands and watched as Will impatiently opened the pack.

            Will turned the pack upside down and dumped out its contents, searching for one thing and one thing only. When it fell out of the pack, he shoved the pack back into Nico’s hands and hastily grabbed the water bottle. He was in such a hurry to open the bottle that when it did open he spilled some of it, prompting Nico to curse and take the bottle from him. Will tried to grab it back but Nico easily kept him away with a hand on his chest.

            “Will! Dammit, Will, listen to me!” Nico said, struggling to hold Will back.

            “I’m thirsty, Di Angelo, give the freaking bottle!” Will threw himself at Nico then, forgetting for a split second that they were in a raft. He was quickly reminded when the raft upended and sent them toppling to one side. Nico tried to hold onto the bottle but when the raft started to flip and Will fell completely on top of him, he lost his hold on it.

            Nico growled and gave up on being calm. He got his legs up under Will’s body and shoved him back to the other side of the raft. Will landed on his butt, the wind knocked out of him. With a bit more rocking, the raft steadied itself out and all that was left was the buffeting of the waves. Will and Nico stared at each other, both catching their breath. Then their eyes fell, simultaneously, to the empty water bottle and the water that was now sitting in the bottom of the boat.

            To Will’s shame, his eyes started to fill with tears, which he angrily wiped away. Then, as he had done the night before, he turned his anger on Nico. “You idiot! If you had just let me have the water, none of that would have happened! What is wrong with you?”

            Nico’s mouth dropped open in shock, but a second later he was furious again. He got up on his knees and pointed his finger at Will, who shrank back. “I was trying to save us! You were in such a hurry you were going to waste the water, you spilled some of it when you opened it, numbskull!”

            “I’m thirsty! What do you expect?”

            “I expect you to listen to me cause you don’t know jack shit about surviving in a situation like this and I do. I expect you to listen to me cause I’m capable of staying calm and thinking clearly, and you’re not! I expect you to listen to me and keep your fucking mouth shut!” At the end of his tiny rant, Nico broke off into Italian and turned away from Will.

            Will dropped his head. He knew Nico was right. He didn’t know what to do. And, no matter how much he disliked Nico, he seemed to be steps ahead of Will in this situation. It made sense to listen to him. Will bit his lip, knowing he needed to apologize. He fidgeted where he sat, trying to patiently wait for Nico to finish his rant. When Nico finally paused to take a breath, Will cleared his throat. Nico turned his head and glared at him. Will managed not to flinch under his gaze.

            “What now, Solace? Wanna whine some more? Wanna get on my ass again?” Nico asked, sneering.

            Will shook his head. “No, I want to apologize,” he said quietly.

            Nico jerked back like he had been stung. “What?”

            “I said, I want to apologize,” Will repeated louder. When Nico remained silent, he continued. “You’re right. I don’t know what the hell to do. I’m not sure I want to know how, but you seem to know so I should listen to you.”

            Nico sat back down, stunned. That was the last thing he had expected. Will refused to meet his eyes, making Nico think he was sincere. Nico felt his anger drain away, leaving him tired. Sighing, he rubbed his face before he looked back at Will. “Ok, apology accepted. And I guess I’m sorry for getting angry like that. But you have to listen to me. I’m not trying to be a dick, I’m just trying to keep us alive. Okay? Can you handle that?”

            Will lifted his head and nodded enthusiastically. “I will. And I really am sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m not usually one to panic.”

            “Yeah, I know. I remember how you were that day one of the cheerleaders broke her leg.”

            “How do you know about that?”

            Nico shrugged. “I spend most days after school in, under, or around the bleachers.”

            Will’s mind was instantly filled with images of punks in leather smoking and drinking under the bleachers and his face must have reflected it because Nico sighed derisively and looked away. Will immediately straightened his face out and cleared his throat awkwardly. “Sorry. I’m trying here, honest.”

            Nico shrugged. “Whatever. We need to get some things straight. First off, we need to take shifts at night and maybe during the day. One sleeps while the other is awake to keep an eye out for help. Second, we need to go through the pack and see what we have and make a plan. Third, we have to stay calm at all times. Panicking will only make things worse. Got it?” Will nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still aiming to have updates every month, but life is about to get crazy for me. My son just started another round of chemo yesterday, and school for him and my daughter starts in just a few weeks. So finding the time and energy to write the next few weeks will be hard for me, but I will try to have another update in August.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delayed update! Life's been crazy for my the past couple months, kids starting school, vehicle troubles, and dental issues. But things have settled down now so I should have more time for writing and I hope to be more consistent with posting. Thanks to everyone for the kudos/comments, they keep me going!

            Nico began picking up what had fallen out of the pack, laying everything out. Will watched him silently, struggling to contain himself when Nico laid out two more bottles of water and several cans of food. To his embarrassment, his stomach grumbled then. He coughed, trying to muffle the sound. Nico glanced up at him, but didn’t comment. He finished laying everything out and set the pack aside. He nodded approvingly. “Whoever was hosting the party last night wasn’t a complete idiot. The pack is waterproof, so everything inside should be dry. A flashlight and extra batteries, a pack of flares, fully stocked first aid kit, a shock blanket, a radio, a few bottles of water, several cans of food, a swiss army knife, repair patches for the raft, two inflatable life vests, a sewing kit, some fishing hooks, line, and bait, and finally a compass. We have to make the water and food last. If we get lucky, it’ll rain and we can catch some of it in the empty bottle.”

            In a sign of peace, Nico opened up another bottle and held it out to Will. Will hesitantly took it and when Nico nodded encouragingly, he took a couple big gulps. He made himself stop then, not wanting to take too much, and handed it back to Nico. Nico took a couple gulps of his own and then put the top back on the bottle. He set it aside and picked up the Swiss Army Knife. He popped open the can opener attachment and easily used it to open one of the cans of fruit. Once open, he used the knife to spear a piece of peach and popped it into his mouth. He grimaced as he chewed and handed the can and knife to Will, who didn’t hesitate to shove two pieces into his mouth.

            He moaned, his eyes closing. He had never been so hungry before and the peach tasted like the best thing he had ever eaten. He opened his eyes and saw Nico staring at him with one hand held out expectantly. Will handed the can back to him, ignoring the pit in his stomach as he did so. They passed the can back and forth until it was empty and they were a little less hungry. Nico started putting the cans and bottle back in the pack, ignoring Will’s quiet whimper. He set the pack aside and then moved to the opening of the raft. Will, who had forgotten that he was naked, suddenly got another view of his back and ass. Will turned his head just in time to keep from seeing anything else as Nico bent over slightly, leaning outside the raft. Then he was back inside the raft and Will breathed a sigh of relief.

            “Our clothes need some more time in the sun before they’ll be dry. They won’t be comfortable to wear but they’ll be dry. We need to restrict our water and food intake. Only one can of food a day and only a few sips of water every few hours. At night, we need to shine the flashlight all around every hour or so. If anyone is out there, they’ll see it. I’ll work on the radio and try to find a channel and contact someone. I know a bit of the French, so that’ll help. We need to put these life vests on and keep them on at all times, just in case. The shock blanket can keep us warm if we need it, but hopefully we won’t. Would’ve been useful last night, but I forgot about the pack until this morning.”

            Will bit his lip as Nico talked, more to himself than to Will. Now that he had eaten and drank something, his curiosity was bubbling up inside of him. Finally, he just blurted out, “How do you know all this stuff?”

            Nico shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ve got a friend who’s big on the ocean. His dad owns several marine sanctuaries and aquariums, plus a few marine research centers. He basically grew up on a boat. His dad and my dad are close friends so we grew up together, which meant I got to go on lots of boat trips growing up. Right now, he’s on a round-the-world trip with his dad. They should be in the Indian Ocean by now.”

            Something in Will’s mind clicked with that last tidbit of information. “You mean Percy Jackson?” Nico nodded. Will’s mouth dropped open in shock. He didn’t know much about Nico, but he had never imagined he would know anyone who ran in the same circles as his family did. “Who the hell is your dad?”

            “Hades di Angelo.”

            “Holy shit,” Will whispered. He had not expected that. He had known Nico’s last name was di Angelo, but had never made the connection to the infamous Hades di Angelo, one of the most powerful, and richest, business men in the country. “No wonder you can afford to go to private school and get away with not wearing the uniform,” he said in an awkward attempt at humor. Nico rolled his eyes.

            “How did you think I was affording it?”

            Will shrugged. “I don’t know, I hadn’t really thought about it. You just don’t seem like . . . ‘that’ . . . kind of person.”

            Nico snorted. “You mean I don’t wear collar shirts and slacks, ride in fancy sports cars, or flaunt my money every chance I get?” Will nodded dumbly. Nico shook his head, chuckling sardonically. “Oh, man. You are just like everybody else in that school. Stuck up and selfish.”

            Will flinched, ashamed but unable to defend himself. Nico tried to turn away from him but Will grabbed his arm to hold him still. Nico instantly froze, his eyes cold as they switched back and forth between Will’s eyes and his hand on Nico’s arm. Will gulped and slowly let go of him. “Sorry,” he mumbled. Nico nodded, rubbing his arm where Will had gripped it. Will cleared his throat. “You said something about setting up watches?”

            “Yeah, one of us always needs to be awake, especially at night. We can use your watch to set watches, maybe two or four hour shifts, and we needs to set schedules for eating and drinking, too, to make sure the food and water lasts.”

            “How long do you think we’ll be out here?”

            Nico shrugged. “No idea. Hopefully just a day or two, a few days at the most. I don’t think we’re near any islands or anything, but I don’t know exactly where we are so it’s hard to say. By now they know we’re missing and they’ll be able to piece together that we went over. They’ll see there’s a raft missing and assume we’re in it. I don’t think we’ve drifted far away, but again I don’t know where exactly we are and I’ve never studied the currents over here anyway.”

             Will couldn’t help but smile at the look of concentration and seriousness on Nico’s face as he talked. It was kind of cute. Will didn’t realize he was smiling until Nico stopped talking and scowled at him. He whipped his head the other way, his face turning red. “So, uh, I think four-hour shifts will be fine. We’re both relatively well rested already so we’ll be starting good on that. If we only drink a few sips of water every two hours, and eat a bit of food every four hours, when we’re awake, it should last us until we’re rescued.” Nico nodded in agreement. Will bit his lip, his mind finally leaping to an important matter neither of them had talked about yet. “Uh, with that kind of eating and drinking schedule, and how little we’ll be eating and drinking, we won’t need to, you know, very often, so, uh . . .” he trailed off, hoping Nico caught his meaning. When Nico merely looked at him questioningly, he groaned and shut his eyes.

            “We won’t need to urinate or, the other thing, often.”

            Nico snorted and coughed, choking on his laughter before it could surface. “Sometimes you sound like a doctor, and then you sound like a regular kid.”

            Will shrugged, his face beet red. He cleared his throat awkwardly and ducked his head. “Hey,” He lifted his head and peered at Nico through his bangs. “It’s kind of cute,” Nico said, and then he smiled at him. Will recognized it as a genuine smile and he smiled back involuntarily. Maybe being stuck with di Angelo wasn’t such a bad thing after all, he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to add some of Will being cute and awkward!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've been struggling with this chapter for a couple weeks and today I sat down and it just all came to me out of nowhere!!

            After that, they quickly planned out a schedule. They agreed that they would only eat once a day, a can for supper, and drink a bit every six hours. At night they would take four hour shifts. Wanting to make sure the batteries in the flashlight lasted as long as possible they would shine it into the sky every hour for a few minutes. Will set the alarm on his watch to help them keep track of the time. As soon as their clothes were dry, they dressed and put the life vests on. Nico turned on the radio and spent half an hour trying to find a signal, and once he did he tried to contact someone. His efforts were pointless though and he gave up after almost an hour. Despite that, both Will and Nico were both feeling confident with this set up, though both were well aware of how easily and quickly things could change. It made for tension, which filled the raft and was shared between them.

 

            This tension made conversation awkward for them both, though it was mostly Will who started talking. Nico was content to sit in silence for hours on end, but Will wasn’t able to do that. And talking distracted him from how hungry and thirsty he was. So he tried to fill the silence any way he could. He asked Nico lots of questions, about anything that came to his mind. If a part of him was genuinely trying to get to know the other boy, well, he didn’t have to admit it to himself. For the first day, whenever he asked a question, Nico would simply not answer or tell him to mind his own business. Then Will would answer his own question to cover Nico’s lack of response, never getting angry. He didn’t blame Nico, even though it hurt. He had thought they were on their way to being friends after Nico had smiled at him, and called him cute, which Will refused to think about. But he supposed the few good exchanges they’d shared in the raft couldn’t wipe out all the bad history between them so easily. And Will assumed that hunger and thirst made Nico grumpy, which was understandable. But Will didn’t give up so easily and he started the second day with another round of questions. Will’s perseverance paid off and on the second day he and Nico talked for a few hours.

 

            There was no sarcasm or anger. They just talked, about anything and everything. Will had learned from that first day and whenever Nico hesitated over a question he quickly changed the subject. He avoided personal questions for the most part, after Nico had reacted badly when asked about his family, besides his father. So instead, they talked about school. They ran into each other during the day and they shared two classes, but despite that they knew hardly nothing about each other beyond that they didn’t like each other. Will was surprised to find that Nico was in other advanced classes, besides the two advanced classes they shared. And by the end of the second day, what had started out as a way to pass the time turned into a genuine desire to get to know Nico more.

 

            Nico was in the same predicament. He could see that Will was really trying to be nice, but it wasn’t so easy to forget and forgive their history. But the more he talked to Will, the more interested in him Nico became. And that was the last thing he wanted. At least, that’s what he kept telling himself on the first day, when he point blank refused to tell Will anything about himself. But instead of getting angry again, like Nico expected, Will simply brushed it all aside and kept trying, kept asking questions and talking about himself when Nico didn’t respond. Nico had hoped that Will would have given up after that, but he woke up on the second day and started all over again. This time, Nico couldn’t stop himself from talking. And so they talked, non-stop for a few hours. To Nico’s relief, Will figured out not to ask about his family after Nico cursed at him when he brought it up the day before. But that didn’t stop Will from talking about his own family.

 

            Nico knew a lot about Will, not unusual since he was one of the popular kids in their year and everyone knew everything about him. But he found himself learning things he was sure no one knew about Will. And, to his horror, that made Nico feel nice. Almost as if he was seeing a part of Will that no one else ever saw. And then he would tell himself how stupid that was. Will had a boyfriend after all, who undoubtedly knew everything about his family already, so Nico wasn’t special. He just happened to be the only one there for Will to talk to. He was sure Will would have told anyone else the same thing if it had been someone else. He wasn’t special. But a part of him wanted to be.

 

            By their third night in the raft, the end of the their second day, both Will and Nico were dealing with a great many emotions, the main ones being confusion and desire. That night, pleasure they had gained from each other disappeared. They made a supper out of cold beans before Nico laid down, using the pack as a pillow. It was Will’s turn to take the first watch. So he set up with the flashlight in his lap. He turned the radio on so he could continue calling out every hour like Nico had been doing since the day before. He fiddled with the flashlight, studiously looking down, until Nico was settled on his side, facing away from him. In a couple minutes, Nico was breathing evenly. Will finally lifted his head. Biting his lip, he stared at Nico’s back for several minutes, his mind spinning.

 

            He jumped when the alarm on his watch went off. Cursing, he shut it off quickly before it could wake Nico. He sighed and turned the flashlight on. For ten minutes, he shined the light in all different directions, occasionally turning it off and on quickly to make it flash. After that, he tried the radio for fifteen minutes, but all he got was static. Dejected, he set the flashlight and radio aside and curled up with his arms around his knees. He leaned over slightly so he could see outside of the raft and watched the stars, naming off any constellations he could recognize. After a little while, he started singing softly to himself.

 

            Nico didn’t sleep much, as a rule. He had never been diagnosed with or treated for insomnia, mostly due to his refusal to see a doctor, but even before the nightmares had started he’d had trouble sleeping. He didn’t have to let Will know that though. He had fallen asleep quickly on their first night in the raft, but he suspected that was due to exhaustion. The second night, he had pretended to sleep half the night until his watch was done and Will took over early in the morning of the second day. He planned on doing the same thing again, so he laid there, pretending to sleep, while Will shined the flashlight and tried the radio. And if he smiled when Will started naming the stars, he wouldn’t ever admit that to anyone. But then Will started singing, which he hadn’t done the previous night. Nico listened to him sings a few songs, his eyes growing heavier with each one. Until finally, Nico drifted off to sleep, his last thought being how lovely Will’s voice was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel a little bad that there's no actual dialogue in this chapter, but I promise there will be a long, heartfelt conversation between them where we hear about both their lives and families in full.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple days late, but here's the next chapter! I didn't get much writing done this month, between a break-up and Halloween with my kids I've been really busy. But It's here! Enjoy, and kudos and comments are always appreciated!

            Nico thought he was imagining it when he first saw it. He had been staring blankly in one direction for several minutes when he abruptly realized what he was seeing. Shocked, he leaned out of the raft. The raft rocked because of his movement and Will jerked awake, shouting, “What, what, what is it?”

            Nico’s face split into a grin. “Land,” he replied, turning his head to look at Will. “It’s an island, Will.”

            Stunned, Will stared at him for a moment. Then he threw himself across the raft to Nico’s side. The raft was tipped over, almost sending them into the water. Nico swore and pulled Will back into the raft. They waited until the raft settled before they stuck their heads out of the raft again. They spent a few minutes staring at the island, which was still several miles away.

            “Any chance you know where we are now?” Will asked hopefully.

            Nico shook his head. “There are lots of small islands like that all around the world. I don’t have them all memorized.”

            “That’s small?”

            “Compared to other islands, yeah. It doesn’t have a mountain. But there’s plenty of trees, which means there’s bound to be some wildlife. We can set traps and fish. The hardest part will be getting clean water. If we’re lucky, there will be some source of water, or it’ll rain. That’s assuming we actually get there.”

            Will looked at him, instantly worried. “What do you mean?”

            Nico gestured to the island with his head. “If we’re lucky, the current will get us close enough to reach shore on our own, maybe all the way to shore if we’re really lucky.” Will swallowed and looked back at the island. Seeing the worried frown on Will’s face, Nico put his hand on Will’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, if the current carried us this close, it’ll probably take us close enough.” Will gave a small, grateful smile before he backed away from the opening. Nico followed him, sitting cross-legged in front of him.

            The next half hour was spent in silence as the boys ate, drank, and watched the island slowly grow bigger with each passing minute. Finally, after an hour, Nico stuck his head out and muttered, “Yes!” before he turned to Will. “Will, I think we’re going to be okay! Look!” Will stuck his head out and gasped. The raft was only several feet from the shore now. They shared a quick grin before they pulled their heads back into the raft.

            Will bit his lip, debated with himself for a moment, and then he began undressing. Nico frowned at him and Will shrugged. “I’ve been in this thing for way too long. I’m getting out. I figure I can pull the raft to shore faster than it could drift.”

            Nico nodded. “That sounds good,” he agreed. He pulled off his shirt and said, “The waves are calm so it shouldn’t be hard. Hopefully there’s nothing under the water that can kill us.”

            Will grimaced as he pulled his pants off. “Thanks for that. Just what I needed.”

            Nico shrugged. “I’m brutally honest with a morbid sense of humor. Get used to it.” Will shook his head in response and then nothing else was said as they stripped down to their underwear. Will climbed out of the raft first, his eagerness to be out of the raft making him rush and almost fall into the water. Nico caught him before he could, grabbing Will’s arm in a strong grip. Will blushed and mumbled a thank you, looking anywhere but at Nico until Nico released his arm a moment later. He waited a couple seconds for his blush to fade and then he met Nico’s gaze. And to his surprise, Nico gave him a small smile. Will turned red but returned the smile. Then he looked back down at the water. It wasn’t clear and not being able to see what was in it and how deep it was almost made him change his mind. But he took a deep breath and slipped into the water.

            Will gasped at how cold the water was, but he realized he couldn’t touch the sea floor right before his head went under. He grabbed the raft with one hand and treaded water with the other. Above his head, he could hear Nico chuckling. He looked up and found Nico smirking down at him. “What?” Will’s teeth were not chattering. Definitely not. “It’s not so bad.” Okay, maybe they were chattering. But just a bit.

            “Yeah, I can see how warm it is,” Nico said before he got into the water. He didn’t react to the cold water beyond a slight inhale. “Feels alright to me.”

            Will scowled at the other boy. “You’ve got ice in your veins, di Angelo.”

            “Probably.” Nico grabbed the raft, too, placing his hand next to Will’s. “Come on, this will be awkward but we can get to shore pretty fast. We’ll probably be able to touch the bottom soon, too.” Will nodded and together they started swimming towards the shore. It was awkward and slow going, since they were using one arm and were pulling the raft behind them, but in just a couple minutes their feet found sand and they could stand up, though they were both weak from being off their feet for so long and they stumbled a bit before they could stand upright. After that, they reached the shore and were out of the water quickly. They pulled the raft up the beach and out of the reach of the waves before letting it go.

            Not caring how it looked, Will flopped onto the sand. “Land! Oh, sweet, glorious land! I’ll never leave you again, I swear!”

            Nico snorted and dropped onto his ass beside Will. “Dramatic, much?”

            “Shut your mouth.” Will threw sand at him and sat up, groaning. “So, what now?”

            Nico scrubbed his face with his hands before he answered. “We need to either get dressed or go into the trees and get out of this sun. Sunburn is the last thing we need right now. And then we can rest up, eat and drink something. Then, we need to get busy.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They finally reached the island! I spent awhile doing research on islands but then I gave up and just based this island off the one the Mythbusters used for their duct tape special.


	6. FINALLY!! A chapter update!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Rises from the depths of AO3 like Mushu rising from the smoke* I LIVE!!
> 
> Seriously though, major thanks to everyone who's been patiently waiting and supporting me and this fic while I get things together. For those who didn't see my super long updates before today, long story short, I had to take a lot of time off to take care of my mental health, then my laptop broke, then when I replaced it with a desktop I had major writer's block. I'm over the writer's block now, thankfully, and though I haven't sent my laptop off to have my data recovered, this fic was one of my multiple WIPs that I didn't have any un-posted work on. So I finally sat down and picked up where I left off, and I cranked this chapter out in a few hours! I hope you enjoy, and please leave me some feedback!

            They only rested on the sand for five minutes before they climbed to their feet and slowly dragged the raft up further on the beach and into the shade of the trees. After that, they ate and drank some, Nico letting them eat and drink more than they had been while floating adrift. “We can afford it now and we need to build up our energy,” he said in explanation. Will merely nodded and eagerly dug into his can of fruit, his mind helpfully reminding him to eat slowly so he wouldn’t upset his stomach.

            With their hunger and thirst more sated than they had been in days, they each felt a burst of energy and they knew they would need to get to work before that energy disappeared. Nico stood up first and stretched his arms above his head, studying the forest intently. Dropping his arms, he grabbed the pack out of the raft and set it on the ground. Bending down to search through it, he said, “I can see lots of vines we can probably use as rope. We can use the raft to sleep in, but I’d feel better if we built some structure above and maybe around it, for added protection. Branches and leaves will be useful for that, as well as for building a fire and other things. First things first, we need to make something to cover our feet. I knew I should have ignored that no shoe rule on the boat.” He pulled the Swiss army knife and grabbed his jeans. He brushed as much as sand as he could off him and then slipped his jeans on and tucked the knife into his back pocket.

            “I never figured you to be one for rules,” Will commented lightly, standing up. He copied Nico, brushing away sand so he could pull his trunks on.

            Nico shrugged. “It depends on the rule.” He quickly emptied the pack’s contents into the bottom of the raft and put the pack on. “Come on, we need to get to work. Pick up anything you think might be useful, sticks, leaves, rocks. Don’t trust any berries or fruits you don’t recognize.” He started walking, leading the way carefully through the trees, stopping every minute to pick up a large stick or leaf, handing them to Will after his own arms were full, and putting any rocks, vines, and other items he thought would be useful in the pack. Will followed close behind him, taking each stick and leaf without complaint. After several minutes, Nico decided they had gathered enough and turned around. “We should have enough here to make some shoes and get a fire going, as well as get a shelter started.”

            “Do you know how to start a fire?” Will asked.

            Nico shrugged. “In theory. I know how to do it, but I’ve never done it.”

            “Oh, okay.” They walked along in silence before Will asked, “Shouldn’t we be looking for water?”

            “We’ve still got water in our water bottles, so that can wait a little while. But with all this plant life, there’s got to be water close by. If we’re lucky, there might be some coconut trees on this island. Coconut milk is great for hydration.” Neither spoke again after that, and back at the raft, they set their armloads aside and emptied the pack of what they had gathered. Then, Nico and Will immediately set to work.

            Using the sewing kit from the pack, Will sewed two pairs of makeshift sandals together while Nico started working on the fire. Will had never researched how to make a fire without tools so he watched, curious, as Nico expertly arranged the various small pieces of wood, tinder, dry leaves and twigs he had collected into a tepee shape. Then he carefully chose a wide piece of wood from the pile, nodding in satisfaction before he used the knife to carve a shallow groove into the wood. After this, he chose another piece of wood from the pile, this one long and thin. He gathered some dry grass and bark from the pack and placed a bit of it into the groove. Then, he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before he put the thin stick on top of the grass and then began spinning the stick back and forth fast.

            Will watched him do this for a couple minutes, pausing every several seconds before starting again. Finally, Will saw smoke. He barely held back an excited yell but the next second the were flames and Nico let out a soft, “Yes!” before he carefully picked up the bundle of grass and set it inside the tepee he had made. He bent down and gently blew on the small flames and added more grass and bark until the flames grew stronger and bigger. Nico shouted in triumph then and grinned up at Will.

            Grinning back, Will said, “You did it!” Without thinking, he excitedly leaned towards Nico and wrapped his arms around him. Shocked, Nico froze for a second but before he could return the hug, Will pulled away, embarrassed and blushing. He refused to meet Nico’s eyes as he apologized, staring down at the still growing fire.

            Nico licked his lips and shrugged. “It’s alright.” He awkwardly cleared his throat and added a couple more branches to the fire. “How are the shoes?” he asked after a long moment of silence.

            Will grabbed the makeshift shoes and handed one pair to Nico. “The leaves are strong and so is the thread, but if the thread breaks I can replace it with the fishing line. I used some of the smaller vines to make fastenings, so we can just tie them on. I think I can use some more vines to tie some bark or something to the bottom to better protect our feet later.”

            Nico studied the sandals and then tried them on his feet. They were a bit too big but they were comfortable and they would keep his feet safe, so he wasn’t about to complain. He stood up and bounced lightly on his feet, getting used to the feeling of the leaf against his skin. “These are great, Will!”

            “Thanks. And thanks for the fire, Nico. I knew you could do it,” Will said honestly, looking up at Nico. They held their gazes for several seconds before Will ducked his head. He pulled his own sandals on and stood up, wiggling his toes for a moment to test the fit. He bent down and tied the vines on his sandals and then stomped around in a circle to test them, happy to find they didn’t loosen or come undone completely. “Okay, so we’ve got fire and shoes, now what?”

            Nico had been staring at the water, thinking and making plans. He didn’t turn his head to answer Will’s question. “Shelter, then we go back into the trees to look for water and food. We’ll need some more branches and sticks, bigger and longer ones, and more vines too.” He turned towards Will and gave him a small smile before he picked up the pack and headed for the trees.

            They spent the next hour gathering more supplies, making multiple trips in various directions and returning with several armloads of sticks and vines. Finally, Nico felt they had enough and they began building a shelter to surround the raft. They tied several branches together to form a roof before they used the largest sticks, stripped of any smaller branches, twigs, and leaves, and did the same, forming three large walls and two small walls. They had to take a break, but after some water and a snack, they tied the walls together around the raft, the two small walls forming an opening, and then finally they finished the hut by putting the roof on top and tying it in place. After that, they spent another half-hour layering the bottom of the raft with leaves for some small added comfort. By then, the sun was beginning to set and they were both too exhausted to continue.

            Plopping down on the sand next to the opening of the hut, Will groaned. “Oh man, now I remember why I’m not an athlete,” he said, stretching his sore arms.

            Nico snorted from a few feet away and added more twigs to the fire. “I’ve seen you in P.E.. You’re not a total loss.”

            Will’s face heated up and he asked, “You watch me during P.E.?”

            Nico froze, his face turning red. He turned his face away from Will, trying to hide it, and then nonchalantly said, “I watch everyone, Solace.”

            Will’s face fell at the use of his last name and he didn’t respond. Instead he stood up and said, “I think I’m going to lay down for a bit. Do you mind?” Nico mutely shook his head and Will climbed into the raft, sighing sadly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things were going well, weren't they? But there's still some ways to go! And don't worry, Will is gonna get his time to shine soon.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I'm so sorry it took so long to update. I thought things were looking up for me back in April, but then life kicked me down again. I've dragged myself up again and trying my best not to get knocked back down.   
> Thanks so much for the patience and support, it means so much to me.

            Will sulked, he knew that’s what he was doing despite his brain’s attempts at convincing him otherwise, in the raft for an hour. He had thought they were making fast progress to being actual friends, but Nico had used his last name again. His name by itself wouldn’t have bothered Will, but the offhand tone Nico had used was bothering Will and he didn’t know why. It wasn’t the first time Nico had used that tone with him and his last name certainly wasn’t worst thing Nico had ever called him. So Will spent that hour sulking, his mind running in circles trying to convince himself that he wasn’t sulking, that he wasn’t bothered because of Nico, and trying to figure out why he was bothered. And after an hour of his head spinning, he had a massive headache and just wanted to bash his head against a rock.

            He finally gave up and climbed out of the raft, only to find himself alone. Nico wasn’t sitting by the fire anymore. Will spun around, his heart jumping into overdrive, and almost yelled out Nico’s name before he saw a small figure sitting further down the beach. He breathed, relieved, and bit his lip, wondering if he Nico would mind some company. It only took him a minute to make up his mind and then he was walking down the beach. Nico looked up from the doodles he was scratching in the sand with a stick when he approached and Will almost lost his nerve. But then Nico gave him a tiny half-smile and Will’s heart thudded in his chest. He returned the smile and sat down a couple feet away from Nico, stretching his legs out in front of him and leaning back on his hands. Unsure what to say, he bit his lip and studied the doodles in the sand.

 

            Nico had spent the hour alone thinking. At first, in an effort to distract himself, he had made plans for the coming days, drawing and writing in the sand to organize his thoughts as he figured out what would need to be done first. But that only lasted for so long and then his thoughts turned to Will. He knew he shouldn’t have snapped at him. He wasn’t mad at Will, he was mad at himself for saying too much. Will didn’t need to know that Nico watched him at school, it was creepy and it reinforced the popular opinion that Nico was a freak. But Nico couldn’t help it. Will was very conspicuous and tended to attract attention, with his cheerful personality and bright blonde hair.

 

            Nico cursed and stabbed his stick into the sand before drawing a large x over the random doodle he had made. He tossed down the stick, pulled his knees, wrapped his arms around his legs, and pressed his forehead against his knees. He closed his eyes tight until it made his head hurt, then opened them again, blinking rapidly. With his head hurting, he had something else to focus on besides Will and he lifted his head and rested his chin on his knees, staring out over the ocean. Of course, the ocean brought up memories of his friend Percy and his family, which he had been studiously avoiding thinking about ever since he dragged Will into the raft.

 

            He smiled to himself, imagining that Percy might accidentally come across them while sailing and rescue them. That was impossible of course, as he knew Percy was miles away in another part of the world. He pushed thoughts of Percy away and wondered what his dad was doing. Surely, he had been notified that Nico was missing by now. Nico could picture his dad storming into the principal’s office in a black Armani suit, angry and looking for someone to sue. Nico snorted, knowing the principal would probably piss himself if his dad did that. His dad intimidated everyone he met. After scaring the principal, his dad would probably be calling in every favor and contact he had in France trying to find Nico. He sniffed and shook his head, irritated with himself as his eyes teared up. That’s why he had been making sure he didn’t think about his dad, why he had snapped at Will for asking about his family.  

 

            He picked the stick back up and started doodling again. He was working on something that resembled a bat when he heard footsteps behind him. He lifted his head and looked over his shoulder to see Will coming towards him. For a second, he wasn’t sure what to do, but then he offered Will a shy smile, which Will returned before sitting down next to Nico. Nico returned to his doodling but he was acutely aware of Will’s body sitting several inches away. After a few minutes of silence, an idea popped into Nico’s head. Before he could talk himself out of it, he scooted closer to Will and immediately started doodling in the space he had been sitting in. He kept his head down to hide his face, not wanting Will to see he was blushing slightly.

 

            Will was surprised when Nico suddenly moved closer to him. He turned to look at Nico, but his head was bent as he concentrated on his doodle. Will studied the other doodles and frowned when he saw a crossed out sun looking doodle. He was about to ask why it was crossed out but then another doodle caught his eye. “What’s that?” he asked, pointing to a doodle of a cross with an upside down half circle and a dot on top.

 

            Nico looked to where he was pointing and waited a moment before he said, “It’s the symbol my dad uses for his business logo.”

 

            Will caught a glimpse of wet eyes before Nico turned his head away again and he cringed. He had spent a long time talking about his family and didn’t mind thinking about them, but he remembered Nico getting mad when Will had asked about his family. He cleared his throat and awkwardly apologized, looking at the sand. Nico shrugged and cleared away several doodles with his hand, then tossed the stick over his shoulder. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Will chewing on his lip, before he hesitantly asked, “Do you wanna talk about your dad?”

 

            Nico froze and Will got scared that he had overstepped again, but then Nico sighed and wrapped his arms around his legs. “There’s not much to tell, I guess. He’s everything you’ve probably heard about in the news.”

 

            “Dark and intimidating?” Will said, remembering the few times he had seen the tall, dark haired man on the TV. Now that he thought about it, he could see the resemblance between Nico and his dad. “I saw him at some red carpet event a few weeks ago. You don’t look like your mom at all,” he said, thinking about the beautiful woman he had seen on Hades’ arm.

 

            “That’s because she’s not my mom,” Nico said. Will winced but Nico smiled slightly. “It’s okay. Most people make the same assumption,” he reassured Will.

 

            “Who is she, then?” Will asked.

 

            “My stepmom, Persephone.” Will nodded and looked back down at the sand. Nico glanced at him and snorted softly. “You can ask, it’s okay,” he murmured, looking back out at the water.

 

            Will had told himself he wouldn’t ask, not wanting to be insensitive, but with Nico’s small encouragement, he asked, “Where’s your mom?”

 

            “She’s dead.” Will gasped and hurried to apologize again, but Nico held up his hand. “Chill out, it’s alright. It happened, she’s dead, it’s not some big secret.”

 

            “If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”

            Nico bit the inside of his cheek, thinking, and then said, “No, I . . . I want to talk about it.”

 

            Surprised and delighted that Nico was willing to talk to him about something so serious, Will smothered a grin and slowly reached out to put his hand on Nico’s shoulders. Nico leaned into his hand slightly and Will’s face turned red. He clumsily patted Nico’s shoulder and then pulled his hand away. Nico looked at him, one eyebrow raised, and Will turned his face away, clearing his throat. “I’m a good listener,” he said and immediately cringed at how dumb he sounded.

 

            But then Nico smiled and said, “Yeah, you are.”


End file.
